WASHINGTON, D.C. - Roughly every 90 seconds, somewhere in the United States, a new customer is going solar. As the solar market rapidly expands, one of the top questions among both homeowners and homebuyers centers around how to best determine the value of a solar system on a residential property. As part of its nationwide consumer education campaign to inform and protect solar consumers, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) tackles that important question in a new guide released today aimed at helping consumers receive an accurate value estimate when buying or selling a home with solar.

The guide, How Owning a Solar System Impacts My Home Value: A Guide to Valuing Residential Solar Energy Systems, walks consumers through the various methodologies that professionals use to value a solar system and provides homeowners with tips along with a recommended valuation method.
 
“It’s critical both buyers and sellers go into a home sale well-educated, armed with the facts and figures needed to feel confident in their solar investment,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. “However, this guide shouldn’t just be a homeowner resource. With over 1.4 million residential solar systems in the U.S., this is a must-read for every stakeholder in the residential housing market, from mortgage brokers to realtors, across the country.”
 
In the guide, SEIA advises readers to focus on the projected income a solar system will generate for the owner over its expected lifetime. According to a recent study by Sandia National Labs and Energy Sense Finance, that approach is typically used to determine value in home appraisals in major solar markets.
 
How Owning a Solar System Impacts My Home Value: A Guide to Valuing Residential Solar Energy Systems will be periodically updated and complemented with additional tools as the U.S. market continues to grow and mature. To access the guide and other related consumer protection resources visit: https://www.seia.org/initiatives/solar-customer-resource-portal.


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About SEIA®:

Celebrating its 43rd anniversary in 2017, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry, which now employs more than 260,000 Americans. Through advocacy and education, SEIA® is building a strong solar industry to power America.  SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to build jobs and diversity, champion the use of cost-competitive solar in America, remove market barriers and educate the public on the benefits of solar energy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org.

Media Contact:

Alex Hobson, SEIA Senior Communications Manager, [email protected] (202) 556-2886